This play presents the possible circumstance where the true inspiration for "A Christmas Carol" was wrought. After falling from a ship into dark, churning waters, Charles Dickens is swept into a near death experience. Tasked to identify his "benefactor" in order to return to life, Dickens embarks on a journey.
He, like his future character, Scrooge, is confronted by spirits from his past—his devoted but long-suffering wife, Elizabeth; the formidable Charlotte Brontë, who challenges his legacy and his dismissive attitudes toward women writers; and the shadow of his own mother, whose emotional distance has haunted him since childhood. Led by these figures and others, Dickens must navigate scenes from his life—revisiting his marriage, his creative triumphs, and the wounds he inflicted on those closest to him. As the boundaries between memory and imagination blur, Dickens is forced to reckon with his failures and his loves. Only by facing the truth can Dickens hope to find redemption and return to the world he left behind.